Introduction
Affordable housing is a term used to refer to housing units in urban regions that are affordable by certain groups of society, where the average income of the person is less than the median household income. The schemes provide houses to the poor at lower prices, which is a primary benefit; however, their remote locations lead to the underutilization of this state-offered facility.
Affordable Housing
Despite that, different nations explain and elaborate on affordable housing differently. Still, broadly, it has an identical concept of addressing the housing and shelter needs of the middle—or lower-income family unit. Developing countries are facing the issue of affordable housing as a significant concern for their economies. This is because a majority of their population cannot afford to purchase houses at the prevailing market prices.
The affordability completely depends on a primary factor of disposable income of the people. As a result, the government is entirely responsible for catering to the increasing demand for affordable housing. Therefore, governments tend to take several steps to meet this rising demand in collaboration with developers and putting heed on the Private-Public Partnerships (PPP) for an appropriate expansion of such units. While some housing units are available through complete sales, however, others are sold via a lottery process, which is carried out by the government-owned affordable housing schemes. Several parameters contribute towards the eventual price of the housing unit, like the city’s function, location, type of project, and the technology used in the construction.
Advantages of the Affordable Housing
There is a massive demand for affordable housing in almost every country owing to the presence of low-income families in the social hierarchy; therefore, this scheme is utterly helpful in catering to this demand. Large corporate associations and construction groups are keen to work on these state-owned projects. Hence, the timely construction and delivery of the housing units are more realistic than those of other private projects, where time commitments are not usually met. It further benefits the buyers who do not have to wait indefinitely to attain their eventual products.
These affordable housing schemes help low-income earners, senior citizens, and disabled individuals who can apply for and take advantage of low-cost houses. If affordable housing is not present, disadvantaged individuals can end up being homeless. Since the schemes are under government control, the safety measures and building codes are appropriately considered, ensuring that the best quality materials and personnel are used in the project.
Disadvantages of the Affordable Housing
Besides all the advantages, affordable housing schemes have serious shortcomings and challenges. These projects are usually located in far-off and remote regions, which are not the central urban areas, usually on the city’s outskirts. The development firms acquire vast land at lower prices in these areas, and these regions usually lack fundamental social infrastructure. Therefore, the absorption levels of these projects can be underutilized despite their accelerated demand.
The buyers mostly prefer the central locations for living rather than the nearby vicinity even though they are to compromise over the flat’s size. The isolation of the affordable housing projects’ neighborhoods and localities from the central communities may create hostile environments. It separates the inhabitants of housing schemes from other localities, resulting in the inflation of negative influences on the inhabitants.
Conclusion
Affordable housing projects are helpful facilities offered by the governments of several nations. They aim to provide houses to all low-income people. The schemes counter the housing demand generated by the underprivileged people in the economy, but people have to compromise on amenities and distance in order to avail themselves of lower house prices.
